‘Riding the line between art and pulp’: A look at cult classic cinema

If I say “cult classic,” what do you think of? Probably an underground movie that built up an intense following over time, like The Rocky Horror Picture Show or The Room, right? Or maybe even something a bit more mainstream like The Big Lebowski?

But where’s the limit here, if there is one? Is Blade Runner a cult movie? Or Pulp Fiction? Monty Python and the Holy Grail? Office Space? Slap Shot? (I mean: Slap Shot?!?)

This hour, a look at a genre, a cross section of cinema history that seems to include everything from all-time classics like A Clockwork Orange to all-time terribles like Plan 9 from Outer Space and many, many weird and not-even-so-weird things in between: the cult classic.

GUESTS:

• Millie De Chirico: Co-author of TCM Underground: 50 Must-See Films from the World of Classic Cult and Late-Night Cinema and co-host of the I Saw What You Did podcast
• David Edelstein: America’s Greatest Living Film Critic
• Sam Hatch: Co-hosts The Culture Dogs on WWUH
• Kevin O’Toole: Co-hosts The Culture Dogs on WWUH

This show was produced with Sajina Shrestha.

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Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired April 11, 2024, in a different form.

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